O'Romneybama Political Song Parody is Great Example of Tent-Pole Programming in Action

I was able to talk to comedian/actor Jim Meskimen awhile back. He uses YouTube very well and still comes out with great content, all promoting his show, "JIMPRESSIONS" that he does around the country. After my interview with him, he kindly sent me a DVD of his show in which he does a wicked Frank Sinatra number. So it's no surprise that Meskimen can do Bob Dylan, too. Just in time for the election, Meskimen has released a political parody video called "Bob Dylan Sings O'Romneybama" that is a great look at his skills in mimicry, and apropos to the season.

Bob Dylan Sings O'Romneybama - Jim Meskimen's Song Parody

Take a look:

As always, Meskimen nails the voice. It's not a caricature, and there are some pretty thoughtful lyrics in this song, even though you might be distracted by the odd two-headed beast that is "O'Romneybama." Also, great makeup job! As long as the camera remains vague on Meskimen's features, you'd swear it was Dylan himself.

What does this video do well? First off, let's get the obvious out of the way: it has great content. Meskimen sounds exactly like Dylan, and the song is something you might have in your head the rest of the day.

But let's look at this from a marketing standpoint. This is tent-pole programming, leveraging a major event in the world, this being an election year, and just a little under a month before Election Day. Although the lyrics skew a bit liberal (and with the real Dylan, I'm pretty sure they would, too), it's a fairly neutral video that in the end, just shows a great impressionist in Meskimen doing his thing. Also, he's kind enough to provide the lyrics in the description.